Though the Horror channel is showing Eyes of Laura Mars at 10.50 p.m. on Saturday 1st April, which is another film that hasn't been shown on UK TV for at least a decade, and maybe closer to two decades!

It's actually been shown a a few times on BBC1 - and if I recall correctly, since 2009, the year Genome ends. It's quite amusing to me that it ended up on BBC1 and now The Horror Channel. I remember when it was first released it was regarded as a rather arty film, the subject of scholarly essays and shown at my university arts centre.

Sorry about that, I completely missed those screenings! (These days my eyes barely stop moving on the BBC1 listings, though I did note that they are in the midst of a complete four film Pirates of the Caribbean retrospective at the moment ) That was why I was so excited to finally see Eyes of Laura Mars again!

The Horror channel is pretty interesting and amongst a lot of poorer films throws up some gems now and then. Mulholland Drive has only been screened on it so far, for example, which I'm amazed by. I'd have thought that Channel 4 or Film4 would have at least picked that one up.

Yes, this is pretty exciting. This is another one of those situations where the films were last shown so far back that I would have to ask when the last time either Un Chien Andalou or the Tarkovsky films were shown on UK TV (though I have a suspicion that Un Chien Andalou only got shown on the older equivalent of BBC4 long before the digital switchover?).

You appear to be right - three showings on BBC Knowledge in 2001 and 2002, the final one on 5 March 2002. None on the BBC prior to those, though I remember the most notorious scene shown just after 8.15pm (with a warning) as part of the Arena documentary The Life and Times of Don Luis Buñuel, on 11 February 1984.

BBC's Iplayer page (which logs film showings after 2009) has 14 March 2009 as the most recent showing date of The Eyes of Laura Mars.

You appear to be right - three showings on BBC Knowledge in 2001 and 2002, the final one on 5 March 2002. None on the BBC prior to those, though I remember the most notorious scene shown just after 8.15pm (with a warning) as part of the Arena documentary The Life and Times of Don Luis Buñuel, on 11 February 1984.

It screened during the first series of Channel 4's Midnight Underground, devoted to underground and avant-garde cinema, in 1993. Meshes of the Afternoon, The Big Shave and Food were shown the same night.

I guess that the early 90s screening was the one that coincided with the restoration of the longer 167 minute cut of Solaris we now have, as it was mentioned in the commentary on the Criterion edition that it was around that time that the longer version received its first international screenings. (I know for sure that the 1996 screening and all the later Film4 showings have been of the 167 minute version)

I guess that the early 90s screening was the one that coincided with the restoration of the longer 167 minute cut of Solaris we now have, as it was mentioned in the commentary on the Criterion edition that it was around that time that the longer version received its first international screenings. (I know for sure that the 1996 screening and all the later Film4 showings have been of the 167 minute version)

Was the short version ever actually circulated in the UK? There's no short version in the BBFC database, and the press kit that Kino put out to accompany their 1990 re-release says the trucating was done by the original American distributor (some outfit called "Magna," who managed to grab the U.S. rights despite Janus's efforts to do so).

That might be the case. I only really remember Solaris from the 1992 screening onwards.

Next week as well as A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night on Film4 at 11.35 p.m. on Monday 10th April and Ivan's Childhood on Film4 at 1.25 a.m. in the morning of Thursday 13th April, BBC2 is also showing Selma on Good Friday at 9 p.m.

I guess the kids are off school next week as its also full of first screenings of animated films. Channel 4 have the first screening of The Boxtrolls at 4.45 p.m. on Sunday 9th April. Also on Sunday and just in time for Easter ( ) Channel 5 have the Thanksgiving-themed time travelling turkey adventure Free Birds at 1.50 p.m. Though most exciting is that tucked away at 2.45 p.m. on Tuesday 11th April, Film4 are premiering the Oscar nominated animation Song of the Sea.

Rather weird next week, mostly down to Film4's dystopian sci-fi season to tie-in(?!?) with Easter(?). Solaris is the screening in the Film4's Tarkovsky season at 00.40 a.m. on Friday 21st April. Sam Raimi's Darkman is getting a relatively rare repeat screening (and the first on Film4) at 9 p.m. on Thursday 20th April (watch out for Jenny Agutter's brief appearance as Liam Neeson's burn doctor! This was around the same time she also appeared in a supporting role in Child's Play 2). And then there are two recent films that I know little about - Extraterrestrial on Film4 at 11.20 p.m. Friday 21st April (with Michael Ironside in the supporting cast), and then at 11.35 p.m. on Saturday 15th April Film4 are also showing the Dutch horror film The Windmill Massacre, starring Noah Taylor.

There are a couple of interesting films on TCM in the next week. Tomorrow they are showing Monte Hellman's China 9, Liberty 37 at 23.25 and then next wednesday they have Jacques Tourneur's great Stars In My Crown at 3pm.

Fantastic news about the Hellman! Always wanted to see it, but don't recall ever noticing it in the schedules. According to Genome it was last shown in 1993 on BBC2 (the second of only two screenings - the first was in 1987).

In addition, Sky Arts are showing the Roger Corman doc, Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel tonight at 9PM, while there's a screening of the 1963 Patrick Hamilton adaptation Bitter Harvest (which I watched on YouTube a couple of years ago because I couldn't find a copy elsewhere) on Talking Pictures, Saturday at 10PM.

Fantastic news about the Hellman! Always wanted to see it, but don't recall ever noticing it in the schedules. According to Genome it was last shown in 1993 on BBC2 (the second of only two screenings - the first was in 1987).

I saw the 1987 Film Club screening. It was panned and scanned - wonder what ratio TCM's copy will be in?

It's good for content but aggravating schedule-wise week next week. As jlnight mentions, Channel 4 is premiering Carol at 9 p.m. on Saturday 9th April, while at 9.30 p.m. on BBC2 John McDonagh's film Calvary is getting its first screening. But wait, there's more! Erik Skjoldbjaerg (the director of the original version of Insomnia) has his deep-sea diver death conspiracy thriller Pioneer showing at 9 p.m. on BBC4 at the very same time. And if that wasn't enough all but Pioneer clash with the premiere of Willow Creek (the found footage bigfoot movie from Bobcat Goldthwaite, perhaps still better known as an actor in the Police Academy films) on Film4 at 10.50! (Plus the premiere of Stung (with Lance Henriksen!) on the Horror channel at 10.55 p.m.)

That's poor (or maybe canny?) scheduling. But considering there is very little else on the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend, you'd have thought they could have spread the riches out a little! Especially since while its the best film there I'd probably say to avoid Carol and go for something else as that is one film that is 100% guaranteed multiple repeats very soon.

Tomorrow, Wednesday 3rd May at 11 p.m., BBC4 are showing Atomic: Living In Dread and Promise, the archive footage documentary on the use of nuclear power in the 70 years since Hiroshima directed by Mark Cousins and with a score by Mogwai.

Next week isn't too bad. jlnight's mentioned Nightcrawler and Nostalg(h)ia, but on Friday 12th May at 2.40 p.m. Film4 have a rare screening of Ken Russell's entry into the Michael Caine-as-Harry Palmer spy franchise, Billion Dollar Brain, which potentially might be the first television screening of it in its original aspect ratio.

Film4 throws out some interesting premieres too. On Wednesday 10th May at 9 p.m. they're showing Ouija. But most exciting is that tucked away at 2.25 a.m. in the morning of Friday 12th May, Film4 is screening Laurie Anderson's doggy-documentary Heart of a Dog.